knew, and it was one thing that kept Susan from feeling like she’d already been defeated. The people in charge took notice of their attention to details like that, and it would go a long way in getting her the recommendations she needed for the future.
But as she climbed into the back of the bus, her whole body tingled, as if the memory of riding Jim was still alive in there. She could almost smell him when she closed her eyes: the strange mix of antiseptic, cologne, sweat, and grass. And on top of all that, the smell of sex haunted her.
She shook her head to clear it, and Eric looked up at her. “Are you just going to sit there all day and let me do the dirty work?”
His tone was teasing, but coming off a body high she hadn’t wanted, Susan didn’t really care. “I don’t know. Are you going to harass me all day, as if I never contribute to the team?”
“Damn, there’s that attitude again.” He was still joking, but the words crawled uneasily up her spine. “What’s gotten into you lately? You used to be so sweet. Did someone suck the warmth out of you?”
Maybe if she spent enough time in Jim’s bed, he could do just that, and she wouldn’t feel all the pain and shame of the horrible ideas people had about her. At least being around him could help her man up against her opposers. “I was young and dumb back then,” she said casually. “Now I’m jaded.”
“I can see that,” Eric said thoughtfully. Susan scrubbed at the base of the rig, but Eric had stopped and was staring at her.
“You’ve been all kinds of rattled since the kid the other night,” Eric said. “Or was it the biker guy? I know he was kind of a dick, and I know how you feel about those guys anyway. But you can’t let that get to you. His opinion of you doesn’t matter, okay?”
Susan shrugged, trying to play off the issue. “I’m not worried about him. He’s just another thug.” A thug you slept with again, and one you plan on cavorting with in the future.
“You say that, but I see the look in your eyes. You’re already trying to prove yourself to too many people, Susan. You don’t have to prove anything to some piece of garbage like him. You have to worry about impressing the big kahunas in the medical industry, and you have to like yourself. Those are the only two things that matter.”
He was right, but for some reason, she still wanted Jim to like her. She could read the same negative stigma coming from him that she had felt toward him, and she wanted to resolve it, for whatever reason. But she wasn’t going to tell him that. Instead, she forced a teasing smile and went back to work. “There is one other person I want to please. I mean, my partner, Eric, means enough to me that I want him to like me and all.”
She heard his chuckle and the teasing attitude he put on in response. “Hey, all the ladies want Eric to like them. But don’t worry, sweetheart, aside from my wife and mi madre , you’re my number one gal.”
Susan stuck her tongue out at him as they finished their cleaning, and she grabbed the supplies to restock on the shelves. She called back to him, “If we don’t get a call soon, I think we should give this baby a bath.”
“I think she’s alright.” He came up behind her and smacked her butt, probably the only person in the entire universe who could get away with something like that. “I say we practice our CPR on each other.”
She rolled her eyes and slapped him playfully on the cheek. “There’s nothing here for you, big guy. Save it for when you get home to your wife.” And she would save it for Jim.
That thought hit her like a ton of bricks. She could barely even remember the last time she’d had sex before him, and even then, it hadn’t been anything spectacular. Now, somehow, she’d gotten herself mixed up with a guy she barely knew who epitomized everything she despised but was a maniac in the sack. He made her
But as she climbed into the back of the bus, her whole body tingled, as if the memory of riding Jim was still alive in there. She could almost smell him when she closed her eyes: the strange mix of antiseptic, cologne, sweat, and grass. And on top of all that, the smell of sex haunted her.
She shook her head to clear it, and Eric looked up at her. “Are you just going to sit there all day and let me do the dirty work?”
His tone was teasing, but coming off a body high she hadn’t wanted, Susan didn’t really care. “I don’t know. Are you going to harass me all day, as if I never contribute to the team?”
“Damn, there’s that attitude again.” He was still joking, but the words crawled uneasily up her spine. “What’s gotten into you lately? You used to be so sweet. Did someone suck the warmth out of you?”
Maybe if she spent enough time in Jim’s bed, he could do just that, and she wouldn’t feel all the pain and shame of the horrible ideas people had about her. At least being around him could help her man up against her opposers. “I was young and dumb back then,” she said casually. “Now I’m jaded.”
“I can see that,” Eric said thoughtfully. Susan scrubbed at the base of the rig, but Eric had stopped and was staring at her.
“You’ve been all kinds of rattled since the kid the other night,” Eric said. “Or was it the biker guy? I know he was kind of a dick, and I know how you feel about those guys anyway. But you can’t let that get to you. His opinion of you doesn’t matter, okay?”
Susan shrugged, trying to play off the issue. “I’m not worried about him. He’s just another thug.” A thug you slept with again, and one you plan on cavorting with in the future.
“You say that, but I see the look in your eyes. You’re already trying to prove yourself to too many people, Susan. You don’t have to prove anything to some piece of garbage like him. You have to worry about impressing the big kahunas in the medical industry, and you have to like yourself. Those are the only two things that matter.”
He was right, but for some reason, she still wanted Jim to like her. She could read the same negative stigma coming from him that she had felt toward him, and she wanted to resolve it, for whatever reason. But she wasn’t going to tell him that. Instead, she forced a teasing smile and went back to work. “There is one other person I want to please. I mean, my partner, Eric, means enough to me that I want him to like me and all.”
She heard his chuckle and the teasing attitude he put on in response. “Hey, all the ladies want Eric to like them. But don’t worry, sweetheart, aside from my wife and mi madre , you’re my number one gal.”
Susan stuck her tongue out at him as they finished their cleaning, and she grabbed the supplies to restock on the shelves. She called back to him, “If we don’t get a call soon, I think we should give this baby a bath.”
“I think she’s alright.” He came up behind her and smacked her butt, probably the only person in the entire universe who could get away with something like that. “I say we practice our CPR on each other.”
She rolled her eyes and slapped him playfully on the cheek. “There’s nothing here for you, big guy. Save it for when you get home to your wife.” And she would save it for Jim.
That thought hit her like a ton of bricks. She could barely even remember the last time she’d had sex before him, and even then, it hadn’t been anything spectacular. Now, somehow, she’d gotten herself mixed up with a guy she barely knew who epitomized everything she despised but was a maniac in the sack. He made her
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